§ Sir Patrick Wallasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has reached a decision on the representations made to him recently on the appropriate frequency sub-band for citizens band radio.
§ Mr. WhitelawI am grateful to my hon. Friend for the way in which he has drawn to my attention the wide range of views on this issue, all of which I have carefully considered. Because of the growing demand for a CB service and the serious situation which now exists through interference caused by illegal AM equipment, the Government's first priority must be to introduce a viable FM service in the autumn. This can be achieved now only by using the frequency band 27.6 to 28 MHz. 40 channels will be available, with a transmitter output power of 4 watts. The performance of such equipment would be superior to anything which has been adopted by our neighbours in Europe, and should match the performance and cost of illicitly used American equipment. The specifications for this service and for the additional one at 934 MHz will be available from HMSO from today.
I recognise the force of the arguments put to me that we should move towards eventual commonality with Europe. It will be our objective in the longer term to adopt the relevant specification recommended by CEPT. We therefore propose to consult those concerned in order to reach agreement on the relocation of the existing authorised services in that band and on the protection of the services which would be affected.